Ink transfer member and method of making same



Nov. 3, 1931, G. E. PELTON' 1,830,620

lNK TRANSFER MEMBER AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed Oct. 29, 1930Patented Nov. 3, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE E. PELTON, OFHARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE GEORGE E. PELTON COMPANY, ACORPORATION OF DELAWARE m1: mmsrnn MEMBER AND inn'rnon or MAKING SAMEApplica'tipn filed October 29, 1980. Serial No.- 491,922.

This invention relates to ink transfer ribbon members such as typewriterink ng r1bbons, inking ribbons used on weighing machines, multigraphingmachines, adding and accounting machines, registers, time recorders,electric automatic tape printin machinesof all kinds, printing press ribone for making imitation type written letters, and similar devices. Forconvenience of illustration only the invention will be described moreparticularly with relation to typewriter ribbons although it is adaptedfor use with all machines using inking ribbons. There-' -.fore, suchexpressions as typewriter or be too expensive, that it shall be capableof a large amount of writing, and particularly that all of the Writingshall be sharp and clear so as not to be too heavy when the ribbon isnew 'and first placed in service, and that after continued use thewriting shall remain rich in color and sharp and clean cut and shallremain of practically the same heaviness as when the ribbon was placedinuse.

An inking ribbon is primarily an ixik supply, and in the ideal ribbonjust sufiicient ink to make a print-like impression on the aper would befed uniformly out of the r1 bon,

and there should be a sufficient supply of ink to do this for anextended length of time,

In other words, the ribbon should be capable of holding a'relativelylarge amount of the ink and also should be so constructed that the inkwill be fed uniformly and only in amounts to give a clear, clean cutimpression.

Therefore, a primary object of my inventionis to provide a ribbonwhichwill hold a relativelv large amount of'ink, .suflicient for extendedoperation. Also to provide a ribbon construction which will regulate andcontrol the expenditure of the ink supply retained in the ribbon so thatit will not be fed too rapidly at the beginning of use or when tionalview of the platen and associate the ribbon is new or too slowly afterthe ribbon has been in use for some tlme, so as to giveuniformappearance, excellent color and sharp outline throughout the life of theribbon.

Another object is to so construct the rib bon as to provide a smoothersurface on the face thereof used towardthe paper or other article onwhich the impressions are to be made than is secured on the ribbons nowcommonly in use, so as to give clearer and more uniform impressions; andalso to secure a smoother surface without the necessity of compressingthe ribbon between rolls with the necessary resultin cuttin of thethreads which weakens the fa ric, an the compressing of the threads toreduce their ink absorbing ability.

More particularly it is an object of the invention to provide an inkingribbon construction in which the threads are drawn and located moreclosely together on the surface of the ribbonwhich is used against thepaper on which the impressions are to be \made, so as to carry agreatersupply of ink both in-the'ribbon and adjacent the surface, to give amore even and smoother surface for more clear out im ressions, and tomore evenly regulate the, eed of ink during operation to secure moreuniform writing for a eater length of time... By providing ribons with agreater ink sup lyand with more uniform and retarding feding of the ink,much more work and better work can be secured with these ribbons, andwill not nocessitate as frequent changing of ribbons with consequent.great saving in time as well as producing better and more uniform work.I

With'the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists incertain novel features of construction, as will be more fully disclosedin connection with the accompanying vdrawings, it being understood thatthe principles of-the invention may be embodied in variousmodifications;

In thesedrawings: Fig. l is a diagrammatic fragmentaiy see:

it bar of a typewriter machine withthe ed 4- ribbon between them; I

typewriter with the paper indicated at 11,

the ribbon at 12 and the end of the type bar at 13. b0 far as I am awareink transfer ribbons such as typewriter ribbons and the like haveheretofore been made of plain weave with both the Warp and fillingthreads passing first over one and then under the next one of the otherthreads and so on so as to be exposed equally on both sides of theribbon.

This weave forms greater voids in the fabric and spaces between thethreads, and as the ink is held primarily by the fibers of the thread,the ink capacity is relatively small as the amount of thread which maybe gotten into a given area is limited.

I secure a much greater ink capacity by so weaving the threads that theymay be drawn closely together on the surface of the ribbon permittingthe use of a much greater amount of fibre in a given section of theribbon for absorbing and holding the ink supply and doing away to alarge extent with the objectionable voids between the threads. I securethis by weaving with either the warp or filling threads, after passingunder one or more of the other threads, skipping or passing over morethan one of the other threads. Thus, for example, as illustrated inFigs. 2 and 3 the warp threads are the shaded threads indicated at 14and the filling threads are the unshaded threads indicated at 15. Ifnow,

we take any given warp thread it will be noted that it passes under afilling thread at point 16 and then passes over a plurality of fillingthreads 15, in the present instance five of these threads,.until itpasses under another filling thread'at 17 and so on throughout theweave. The same is true of the other warp threads, and although I'haveshown them as skipping five filling threads, I am not limited to thisarrangement, but the same effect is secured where they skip two or morethreads. In Fig. 4 I have shown the warp thread as skipping threefilling threads. By weaving the threads in this manner, they may bedrawn and positioned closely together, much more closely than in a'plainweave, and it greatly reduces the voids or openings be tween thethreads. In other words, the threads are more congested on the surfaceof the ribbon. However, I am not limited to securing this effect byhaving the warp threads arranged in this manner but I may arrange thefilling threads the same way. In other words, ihis congested surface maybe secured by either the warp or filling threads, and it may be eitheron one surface, or on both surfaces as shown in Fig. 5.

For satisfactory work a ribbon must not carry a large amount of surfaceink, and the ink should most of it be absorbed by the fibres and notcarried in the voids or spaces between the threads. For example, eachcotton thread or fibre is hollow and these fibres are what hold the inkin the ribbon and, therefore, the more of these fibres that can begotten into a given space, the more ink can be properly and effectivelycarried by the ribbon. As suggested above, with this ribbon more threadsand therefore, more-fibre can be congested or located in a given spaceand, therefore, a much larger amount of ink can be carried by a givenamount of this ribbon than in the old plain weaves which have heretoforebeen used. Also, with this rib-- bon we can get more uniformity in theimpressions throughout the life of the ribbon,

both in the degree of color and in the clear- I mess up until the timethat the ink supply is nearly exhausted, say when the ink is aboutthree-quarters gone. This is because of the greater absorbent effect ofthe ribbon so that it holds a greater supply of ink, and the fibresbeing closer together on the surface so control the feed of ink as togive a more uniform and better regulated supply of ink for theimpression. As there are more threads and more fibre in a given space weadditionally have more strength as well as a greater ink holdingcapacity, so that the ribbons wear longer, and a much smoother surfaceis secured on the face of the ribbon adjacent the article on which theimpression is to be made which produces a more uniform and continuousimpression and much more clear cut.

Thus, as suggested this skipping weave gives much nearer to a planesurface and a smoother surface on the face of the ribbon. In otherwords, it gets rid of the hills and valleys in the cloth and gives muchclearer and more continuous impressions. Manufacturers have attempted tosecure this plain flat surface without hills and valleys in the plainweaves heretofore used by passing this plain weave through calenderrolls, that is, bv calendering and pressing the fibres down flat andsmooth. This tends to break the threads, weakening the weave, and itdecreases the ink carrying capacity of the fibre as they are compressedtogether. With my improved ribbon, I secure the smooth surface desiredwithout breaking or weakening the threads and without decreasing the inkcarrying or absorbent capacity of the fibre or thread in any way. Stillfurther, the closely adjacent threads on the surface act as a sort ofbarrier or control medium through which the ink pases from the threadsin the woven leaving the threads with the natural one side of the wovenfabric 19 it being undergum on the surface of the ribbon, and as thesethreads are less absorbent they form a substantial carrier or controlmedium on the surface ofthe ribbon for the ink. If it is desirable tohavea stronger feed of ink to the writing paper, the fabric may beboiled for a given period say not to exceed about thirty minutes so asto remove a part of the gum. This would permit a faster feed of ink, butwe would still have a substantial barrier for controlling theflow of theink.

With either silk or cotton or other threads we can produce this barrierby treating the warp which is woven on the skip thread basis withcellulose before weaving to form on the surface of these threads acoating which is less-absorbent. This will form a surface barrier andthe remaining portion of the fabricor in this Lease, the fillingthreads, are theink absorbent threads to carry the greater portion ofthe ink supply.

Another way in which this barrier may be produced on the surface of thefabric is to apply the cellulose to this surface after the fabric iswoven. Preferably the material of which this coating is made is ofcellulose like character. I prefer, for ordinary coating material, amixture of pyroxylin solution and pyroxylin cement, about half of each.The

pyroxylin solution may be composed of about,

four parts of pyroxylin to five parts ofa softener such as castor oil towhich is added a low boiling point solvent which may be ethyl acetatediluted with a quick-drying liquld such as gasoline, alcohol or acetone.Pyroxylin cement is thesame as pyroxylin with the softener omitted andgum added. The addition of gums or resins seems to give greaterflexibility and adhesion. The coating must be of such character that theblow ofpreissure of the type would cause a regulated supply of ink to bedriven through the coating onto the paper or tape. The supply of ink sofurnished is regulated bythe number of coats and the thickness. It isimportant that the coating material be of such characteras not topenetrate and saturate any substantial portion of the fabric or baseunless intended so to do. This conserves the ink-carrying capacity ofthe base or fabric. In Fig. 6 I have sh'ownthis control coating at 18applied to a much clearer writing.

in a lain weave stood this fabric is Woven on the skipping thread basisas illustrated in and described in connection with Figures 2 to 5inclusive. In Fig. 7 the same weave is shown with the cellulose or othercontrol coating on both surfaces. The coating on the back serves todecrease adhesion of ink to the type and thus prevent them fromclogging. Thus, they can be kept clean and clear for a longer time. As.

in this weave the threads are closer together on thesurface thecellulose coating is retained on the surface where it should be for bestresults. That is, with plain weave the larger holes and cavities betweenthe threads hold the cellulose which is objectionable as it tends togive a broken writing. However, with my improved ribbon these holes orcavities are so greatly reduced that the cellulose is held on thesurface of the ribbon and does not get down into the body of the fabric.This The coating is applied to any suitable width or length of the basematerial and to the surface of the fabric on which the threads with theskip weave arrangement are located.

That is, onto the smoother surface of the fabric. If the material coatediswider than is required for a single ribbon of the kind 'desired, thenthe sheet after being coated can be cut into strips of the desiredwidth. The same is true of the ribbons whichare not coated with the,pyroxylin as they may be satgives til urated with the ink in strips orsheets of any desired width and then cut up to' the desired width foruse. The coating being applied in liquid form is'then dried either inthe air or by the use of heated metal rolls or by running the ribbonthrough a drying oven.

I do not limit myself in this invention, however, to cotton fabric orspun silk or to the fibres above mentioned, but am able to use any sortof fibres or fabric material capable of absorbing and giving offtypewriter ink, such for example as wool, linen, artificial silk, eitherrag or wood pulp 1papers or other papers, or mixtures or the bres aboveor of'other types of fibres desired.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, what I-claim is:

'1. An ink transfer ribbon member including a woven fabric in whicheither the warp or filling threads skip or pass over two or more adacent threads of the other type on one side of the member whereby theskipping threads may be more closely drawn together to provide morethreads in a given space than threads of said fabric.

2. An ink transfer ribbon member including a woven fabric in which onetype of the woven threads after passing under a thread of any of the andink carried by the of the other type then passes over a plu- 1 'ralityof adjacent threads of the other type on one surface of said member, andsaid mem her being impregnated with ink. I

zen

. 3. An ink transfer ribbon member includmg a woven fabric in which onetype of the v woven threads skip or pass over a plurality of adjacentthreads of the other type on one surface of said member so that theseskipping threads are placed closely together, said member beingimpregnated with ink, and the said skipping threads being less absorbentof the ink than the other threads to forms. control larrier for the inkon the surface of the mem- 4. .An ink transfer ribbon member including afabric comprising a set of'warp threads and a set of filling threads sowoven that one set of the threads lies mostly on one surface of themember, and said member being impregnated with ink.

5. An ink transfer ribbon member including a fabric comprising a set ofwarp threads and a set of filling threads so woven that one set of thethreads is exposed to a greater extent on one surface of the member thanon the other, and said member being impregnated with ink.

6. An ink transfer ribbon member including a fabric comprising a set ofwarp threads and a set of filling threads so woven that one set of thethreads lies mostly on one surface of the member, said member beingimpregnated with ink, and said first set of threads being less absorbentof the ink than the other threads to form a control barrier for the inkon one surface of the member.

7. An ink transfer ribbon member including a fabric comprising a set ofwarp threads and a set of filling threads so woven that one set of thehreads is exposed to a greater extent on one surface of the member thanon the other, said member being impregnated with ink, and said first setof threads being less absorbent of the ink than the other threads toform a control barrier for the ink on one surface of the member.

8. An ink transfer member including a woven fabric comprising a set ofwarp threads and a set of filling threads, one of said sets of threadson the surface used adjacent the surface to be typed skipping andpassing over a plurality of adjacent threads of the other set to providea smooth surface, and said member being impregnated with ink.

9. An ink transfer member including a woven fabric comprising a set ofwarp threads and a set of filling threads, one of said sets of threadson the surface used ad-.

jacent the surface to be typed skipping and passing over a plurality ofadjacent threads of the other set to provide a smooth surface, saidmember being impregnated with ink, and a relatively nonabsorbent surfaceportion on said smooth surface acting as a screen to regulate the inkfed from the ink transfer member.

10. An ink transfer member including a fabric comprising a set of warpthreads and a set of filling threads so woven that the threads of oneset are exposedto a greater extent on the surface used adjacent thesurface to be typed than on the other surface, anld said member beingimpregnated with 1n r.

11. An ink transfer member including a fabric comprising a set of warpthreads anda set of filling threads so woven that the threads of one setare exposed to a greater extent on the surface used adjacent the surfaceto be typed than on the other surface, said member being absorbent andimpregnated with ink, and an ink retarding face portion on said firstmentioned surface wherey a regulated and uniform quantity of ink may bedriven from the transfer member when disposed with the ink retardingface adjacent the surface for receiving the impressions.

12. An ink transfer member including a fabric comprising a set of warpthreads and a set of filling threads so woven that the threads of oneset are exposed to a greater extent on one surface of the member than onthe other, said member forming an ink carrying base, and an inkretarding material on the first mentioned surface thereof through whichthe ink is to be transferred and acting as a screen through which ink isdriven uniformly and under control.

13. An ink transfer member including a fabric comprising a set of warpthreads and a set of filling threads so woven that the threads of oneset are exposed to a greater extent on one surface of the member than onthe other, said member being of ink absorbent material, and an inkretarding material including pyroxylin on the first mentioned surfacethrough which the ink is to be transferred and to act as a screen tocontrol the flow of ink therethrough.

, 14. An ink transfer ribbon member including a fabric comprising warpand filling threads, the warp threads skipping or passing over aplurality of the filling threads on one surface of the member wherebythey may be placed closely together and form a smoother surface, and themember being imover a plurality of the filling threads on one surface ofthe member whereby they may be placed closely together and form asmoother surface, said fabric being impregnated with ink, and anink-retarding material on the smoother surface thereof through which theink is to be transferred and acting as a screen through which the ink isdriven uniformly and under control.

17'. An ink transfer ribbon member including a fabric comprising Warpand filling threads, the warp threads skipping or passing over aplurality of the filling threads on one surface of the member wherebythey may be placed closely together and form a smoother surface, saidfabric being impregnated with ink, and an ink-retarding materialincluding pyroxylin on the smother surface of the member through whichtheink is to be transferred and to act as a screen to control the flowof ink therethrough.

18. An ink transfer ribbon member inclu'ding a fabric comprising warpand filling threads, the warp threads being of silk containing thenatural gum and skipping or passing over a plurality of adjacent fillingthreads on one surface of the member whereby they may be placed closelytogether and form a smoother surface, the filling threads being of amore ink-absorbent material such as cotton or spun silk, and the memberbeing im regnated with ink.

19. n ink transfer ribbon member including a fabric comprising warp andfilling threads, the warp threads carrying a material which renders themless ink-absorbent, said warp threads skippin or passing over a 3plurality of adjacent lling threads on one side of the member to producea smoother surface and so that these threads can be laced closelytogether, the filling threads belng of a more ink-absorbent material,and the memher being impregnated with ink.

In testimony whereof I affix my si ature.

GEORGE E. PEL ON,

